A Week in Chile

Wow, what a trip!  It was seriously a whirlwind, but a very pleasant one, filled with great "Dad" and "Matthew" time.  I haven't spent so much time with either of them in a VERY LONG TIME, so it was WONDERFUL!  I felt like I got to know both of them all over again, and it was great!


Amy and I left the Farley's house (straight from that Christmas celebration) on Thursday, Dec. 23rd around 4:30.  We made it up to Story City, then proceeded to drive up to Minneapolis through a winter storm.  Got there around 10:00, had a quick night's sleep, then made it to the airport around 6:30 AM on Friday, Dec. 24th.

Dad smiling in the airport :)  Note: this was BEFORE the 27 hour trip!

We went to a Christmas service/dinner at Matthew's church.  It was such a special night, and everyone there was SO welcoming and friendly.  We loved getting to see Matthew's Chilean faith family.

Matthew has spent the majority of his time in Chile building two fishermen "huts".  Unlike the U.S., a lot of the wood had to be prepared by the workers, so this is the wood shop that Matthew has spent a lot of his time in.  Esteban is in the middle, and he and dad were immediate "buddies".  Dad doesn't speak a word of Spanish, and Esteban speaks even less English -  but they both had their Carharts on, so they were BFFs right away.

Matthew is fortunate to be surrounded with a Chilean "family", and we got to go over to his "grandma Aida's" house for dessert one night.  Hmmm...so good!

This is Matthew's building site.  Way to go brother!!!

The boys on a short hike to a great view near Matthew's building site.  See the two buildings in the back?  Right between the two construction men. :)

WHOA big rhubard!

The resort where Matthew is staying is called the "Cliff's Preserve", and is focused toward the very, very wealthy.  We would have NEVER been able to afford staying there...except that during this visit, we got to stay there for free!  Our accommodations weren't ritzy or anything, but we did get to do a bunch of the things available for the guests...one of which was horse-back riding along the beach!  We didn't even need a guide, it was so fun!

Dad's inner child surfaced during our trip, and he became "Brad the Explorer".  My inner adult surfaced, and I spent the whole time fretting they were going to slip and die.  Seeing how close they were to the water, I realize now that I could have calmed down a bit.

Matthew wanted me to take this picture to try and trick mom into thinking he was really high...

does it look real?!

Another stop on our explorations.

Matthew worked his magic and got us a free boat excursion out to see the penguins in their natural habitat.  It was AWESOME, such a fun experience.

Fishermen out to sea.

Mateo in his goofy penguin outfit.

LOVED spending time with this boy...it'd been over a year since we'd seen each other!!!  WAY too long.

PENGUINS!

The Chilean/Iowa posse. :)

Brother/Sister :)

We visited the Laguna Verde....hmmmm....

Our last day we decided to take a trip to climb up the local volcano...and surprise!  There was snow!

And a SWEET view...

And a ridiculous daddy...

And snow snacks.  :)

It was a WONDERFUL trip, filled with great talks, laughs, new friends, and long-lasting memories.  LOVE YOU DADDY!  LOVE YOU BROTHER!  Thanks for a great time. :)